National Reciprocity: Apocalypse Now?

In good news that was buried by other stuff Wednesday, the House passed the Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act, 231-198. Perhaps surprisingly, six Democrats voted for the bill, while 14 Republicans voted no. What isn’t surprising is the Leftmedia’s dezinformatsia about it. “House passes bill to let gun owners to carry concealed weapons across state lines,” headlined The Washington Post — as if all state lines were previously a barrier. What the bill actually does is ensure that all state concealed carry permits are valid in all states, contrary to the current regime under which states may either offer reciprocity or deny the right to bear arms to citizens of other states. As for citizens of the 12 states that require no permit, they may also carry in any other state. And as of 2014, all 50 states (some grudgingly after court defeats) recognize the right to carry concealed firearms.

In her typically apocalyptic fashion, Nancy Pelosi tweeted, “Inviting violent criminals to carry concealed weapons doesn’t save lives. Inviting domestic abusers to carry concealed weapons doesn’t save lives. Inviting convicted stalkers to carry concealed weapons doesn’t save lives. Yet the @HouseGOP just voted to do exactly that #StopCCR.” Dead wrong. Violent criminals, domestic abusers and convicted stalkers cannot legally obtain carry permits in any state, which the House bill did not change. But when have facts ever gotten in the way for Pelosi and Co.?

The NRA backed the bill, effectively responding to Pelosi in a statement, “Despite scare tactics by the bill’s opponents, concealed-carry licensees as a group have proven to be more law-abiding than the general population and even the police.” Analysis: True.

Meanwhile, House Republicans added the Fix NICS Act to the bill — legislation that would create “maximum coordination” between states and the federal government on the FBI’s National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS). It would penalize government agencies for failing to report pertinent information. Clearly, this is a response to the church shooting in Texas; the U.S. Air Force did not report the murderer’s conviction record to NICS. Fix NICS does not expand background checks in terms of who must undergo one or what information must be reported from which agency, though it would likely lead to more complete information in the NICS. Adding the two bills together may have helped in the House, but senators of both parties warn it’s a no-go in the Senate.

Strategically, Democrats oppose gun rights in any form — using hyperbole to do so — because they know the last line of defense against a tyrannical central government is the Second Amendment.

Who We Are

The Patriot Post is a highly-acclaimed weekday digest of news, policy and opinion written from the heartland for grassroots leaders nationwide — not the MSM's ubiquitous Beltway echo-chambers. Read More

What We Offer

On the Web

We offer solid conservative perspective on the issues of the day, including analysis, opinion columns, historic documents, humor, cartoons and more.

Via Email

Choose between our full-length Digest or our quick-hitting Snapshot to keep up with news important to Liberty. We also offer Humor on Monday and Alexander's column on Wednesday.

Email Subscriptions

Support Us

Our Mission

The Patriot Post is steadfast in our mission to extend the endowment of Liberty to the next generation by advocating for individual rights and responsibilities, supporting the restoration of constitutional limits on government and the judiciary, and promoting free enterprise, national defense and traditional American values. We are a rock-solid conservative touchstone for the expanding ranks of grassroots Americans Patriots from all walks of life. We are not sustained by any political, special interest or parent organization, and we do not accept advertising to ensure our advocacy is not restrained by commercial influence. Our mission and operation budgets are funded entirely by the contributions from Patriots like you. Please support The Patriot Fund today!